Netflix Winds Down Exclusive Director Deals in Pivot Toward Unscripted and Lower-Cost Series

Netflix is moving away from its long-running strategy of securing exclusive multiyear production agreements with prominent Hollywood directors, according to reporting by The Verge . The company confirmed that its exclusive overall production deal with director David Fincher has concluded after six years, marking the end of a partnership that began in 2020.

The Fincher agreement originally started as a four-year term following his work executive producing House of Cards and Mindhunter . His 2020 film Mank garnered 10 Academy Award nominations and won two, but grossed roughly $100,000 against a $25 million budget during a three-week theatrical run and spent only one day on Netflix's internal top 10 rankings. His 2023 follow-up, The Killer , reached the platform's No. 1 spot upon debut, though it generated $452,000 at the box office against a $175 million production cost. Fincher's upcoming film, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth , is slated for a two-week theatrical window before streaming on December 23.

Fincher's exit coincides with other major departures from the platform. Director Shawn Levy signed an overall production agreement with Disney last month after nearly a decade working exclusively with Netflix on titles such as Stranger Things , The Adam Project , and Shadow and Bone . Levy is currently directing Star Wars: Starfighter , which is scheduled to premiere next May.

In August 2025, Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer departed Netflix for a four-year television and film deal at Paramount. Their Netflix series The Boroughs was canceled one month after its May debut, and the duo is working on an untitled Paramount feature planned for 2028. Netflix has also severed ties with writer-director Noah Baumbach following releases including Marriage Story , White Noise , and Jay Kelly .

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos stated that departures by Levy and the Duffer brothers were driven by the filmmakers' desire to dedicate more time to feature-length projects.

Netflix continues to maintain selected high-profile film relationships. The streamer holds an ongoing production pact with Guillermo del Toro and is planning a seven-week theatrical run for the first of Greta Gerwig's upcoming Narnia films ahead of its streaming release. Director Rian Johnson has fulfilled the requirements of his $450 million contract for two Knives Out sequels and is taking a break, though future projects remain possible.

The broader shift reflects a pivot toward lower-budget episodic content, live broadcasts, and unscripted programming. Since horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan departed for Amazon in 2022, Netflix has expanded reality offerings such as Squid Game: The Challenge , Wonka's The Golden Ticket , and The New Stanford Prison Experiment . The adjustment comes as legacy entertainment companies Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery prepare for a potential megamerger.